


where the spirit meets the bones

by cathect



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M, Mentions of Pre-Kerberos, Porn with Feelings, Set During Season One, Slight Character/Relationship Study
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-14 05:33:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28665528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cathect/pseuds/cathect
Summary: Sometimes Keith thinks about what it would be like if Shiro had never gone to Kerberos. If the lions had picked other paladins. He imagines the two of them holed up in that shack in the desert, racing their motorbikes to pass the time. Keith still in the pilot program at the Garrison, Shiro with a job that wouldn’t call for trips to the other side of the universe. He pictures Shiro sharing his home and his bed and his life, the war in space lightyears away. Out of sight and out of mind.As it is, they’re in a magic castle that’s galaxies away from Earth, and this is the first time Keith has gotten Shiro alone in days. Between Paladin training and Allura’s team-building exercises— not to mention the annoyingly frequent run-ins with the Galra— Keith’s had to settle for his right hand to keep him company at night. Shiro’s voice in his head instead of in his ear. Some selfish part of him wonders if he’s ever going to think that it’s all worth it.-set in season one. mentions of pre-kerb.
Relationships: Keith/Shiro (Voltron)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 55





	where the spirit meets the bones

**Author's Note:**

> i've been trying for literal months to end this fic in a way i found satisfying. i'm not sure if i found it, but i can't say i hate it either.
> 
> thank you to erin for beta'ing as always. and to megan for always being the best cheerleader around.
> 
> title taken from "ivy" by taylor swift.

Keith groans as his back hits the wall.

He’s still sore from training, his muscles stiff and aching, but that doesn’t stop him from wrapping his arms around Shiro’s shoulders and pulling him closer. They’re chest-to-chest, Shiro’s tongue in his mouth, but it’s still not close enough. Shiro kisses him hard. Urgent. So unlike the way he taught Keith to kiss back at the Garrison. That feels like a lifetime ago.

It’s been like this since Shiro returned— fast and dirty and desperate. Quick fucks between training sessions or late at night while everyone else is asleep. There isn’t time for anything else. There’s a war to be fought, a universe to be saved, and five other members of a rag-tag team that depend on their ability to put the needs of others above their own.

Sometimes Keith thinks about what it would be like if Shiro had never gone to Kerberos. If the lions had picked other paladins. He imagines the two of them holed up in that shack in the desert, racing their motorbikes to pass the time. Keith still in the pilot program at the Garrison, Shiro with a job that wouldn’t call for trips to the other side of the universe. He pictures Shiro sharing his home and his bed and his life, the war in space lightyears away. Out of sight and out of mind.  
  
As it is, they’re in a magic castle that’s galaxies away from Earth, and this is the first time Keith has gotten Shiro alone in days. Between Paladin training and Allura’s team-building exercises— not to mention the annoyingly frequent run-ins with the Galra— Keith’s had to settle for his right hand to keep him company at night. Shiro’s voice in his head instead of in his ear. Some selfish part of him wonders if he’s ever going to think that it’s all worth it.

“You’re thinking too much,” Shiro mumbles into his mouth. “You need a second?” He tries to ask it casually, but there’s nothing casual about the way Shiro cares for Keith.

Keith shakes his head. “I’m good,” he says, breathless. “Promise.”

“Good.” Shiro brushes their noses together, something that sends Keith’s heart careening against his ribs, and kisses Keith again.

It’s nothing short of a fucking ordeal to get their paladin armor off. The pieces fall to the floor in a series of _clanks_ that echo off the walls. Keith’s underclothes go next, landing in a heap next to his armor. He clambers onto the bed once he’s naked, hair fanning out across Shiro’s pillow and drawing the other man’s eyes to him.

Keith rolls his eyes when he sees Shiro still has his pants on. “Can’t you go any faster?” It’s all bark and no bite; Shiro’s running the show here, he always is.

“Impatient,” Shiro chides with a shake of his head, but shoves his pants down his legs anyway. Keith watches with his bottom lip between his teeth as Shiro’s boxers go too. He steps out of them and then steps towards Keith, eyes dark and hungry.

Shiro kneels between Keith’s legs before he kisses him again. He plants his metal hand next to Keith’s head and takes his time, licks into Keith’s mouth and swallows the whimper he gets for his efforts. Keith’s never kissed anybody else, but he’s sure that Shiro has mastered the art. Shiro’s human hand climbs Keith’s ribs like a ladder. His thumb brushes Keith’s nipple and Keith arches into the brief touch with a moan. Loud and unabashed. He’s easy like that, for Shiro.

Shiro opens him up as diligent as ever, one of Keith’s legs over his shoulder as he curls two fingers against his prostate. Keith’s whining by the time Shiro gets a third in him, and he bites down on his knuckles to muffle his noises. It’s no secret what the two of them get up to when they’re alone, but Lance would never let them live it down if he actually _heard_ them.

“Shiro,” Keith gasps. “I’m ready, Shiro, please.” He sounds almost unbearably needy, but he can’t bring himself to be embarrassed. Not when Shiro’s made him this way.

Shiro grins and pulls his fingers out with a filthy noise that makes a blush rise to Keith’s cheeks. He gently lowers Keith’s leg to the mattress and leans forward, covering Keith’s body with his own. The world narrows down to just the two of them, to the breaths shared between them and the way Shiro holds Keith’s gaze as he presses inside.

“Missed this,” Shiro mutters once he’s fully seated. “Missed you.” He kisses the corner of Keith’s mouth.

“Missed you too,” Keith says, and means it more than he cares to admit— even to Shiro, even now.

Shiro’s been back for a while now, they’ve been doing _this_ for a while, but Keith still has nightmares about all those months he was gone. He still wakes up in the middle of the night expecting the other side of the bed to be empty and cold, nearly cries in relief each time he finds Shiro right next to him. He’s a little broken and battered, changed by things he’s only barely begun to tell Keith about. But he’s Shiro, and the universe gave him back to Keith, even when he didn’t deserve it.

It’s more than he can put into words, so instead he just says, “Move.”

Shiro huffs out a laugh. “Shouldn’t there be a please in there somewhere?”

“From me?” Keith snarks back. “Yeah, right.”

Shiro rolls his eyes and, for a moment, Keith thinks he’s not going to give him what he’s asked for. It wouldn’t be out of the ordinary for Shiro to pin Keith’s wrists to the bed, holding him still and full until he’s desperate enough to _beg_ for it. But Shiro’s feeling generous tonight, and Keith doesn’t have to ask again.

Shiro fucks him hard and ruthless. Keith’s sore muscles scream in protest, but he ignores them in favor of rolling his hips in time with Shiro’s thrusts. He’s going to feel this for days, and the thought has precome dripping onto his stomach. Shiro drags his fingers through it and sucks them into his mouth and Keith has to squeeze his eyes shut so he doesn’t come.

In the back of his mind, Keith wonders if this is how Shiro has always been. He wonders if the man he knew two years ago would act like this, would set this punishing pace, or if this is the Galrans’ Champion inside him now. The metal hand, bruising and unrelenting at his hip says one thing. The gentle press of lips to Keith’s jaw says another. Keith decides he doesn’t care where the truth lies in between.

He comes hurtling back to reality when Shiro reaches between them. His fingers wrap around Keith’s cock at the same moment he nudges up against Keith’s prostate, and Keith has to press his face into the pillow to muffle his shout.

“That’s it, baby,” Shiro murmurs. “Doing so good for me.” Keith’s body burns with the praise, just like it always does. In and out of bed, all he’s ever wanted is Shiro’s approval. “I want you to come for me. Can you do that?”

Keith knows Shiro isn’t expecting a reply; the crescendo of desperate attempts at Shiro’s name has to be enough to tell Shiro that, yes, he absolutely _can_ do that. But Keith’s entire being vibrates with the need to answer. “Yes, sir,” he says, natural as breathing.

He feels Shiro’s smirk against his jaw as he presses a kiss there, and Keith’s head tilts back of its own accord. Baring his throat. Submitting. Shiro doesn’t miss a beat. His teeth sink into Keith’s neck and Keith _comes_.

He’s shaking when he comes back down, cracked open and raw under Shiro as his thrusts turn sloppy and selfish. His hold on Keith’s hips is bordering on painful. The promise of bruises in the shape of Shiro’s fingers is enough to have Keith’s dick giving a feeble twitch as Shiro finally comes. When Keith peels his eyes open to watch, he recognizes the shape of his own name on Shiro’s lips. He wishes more than anything that he could hear it over the blood rushing in his ears.

They stay like that for a long time, as close together as two people can physically be. Keith wishes they could be closer. He would put his beating heart right in Shiro’s hands if he could. 

Shiro sighs against his neck, finds Keith’s hand in the sheet and twines their fingers together. Keith’s heart nearly leaps out of his chest. The fingers of his free hand move absentmindedly along Shiro’s back, tracing constellations between scars that he doesn’t dare ask about. Shiro will tell him when he’s ready for Keith to know. Keith isn’t so sure he’ll ever be ready to hear it.

Keith knows that they should get up. They’re sweaty and sticking together and they’re barely going to get enough sleep tonight as it is, but he still can’t bring himself to say anything that might actually make Shiro move. Anything that might burst the bubble they’ve made for themselves, tucked away in Shiro’s room.

When tomorrow comes, they’ll be Paladins again. They’ll have to train and fight and risk everything to keep the worlds around them turning, for the chance to build the life they’ve always wanted when all of this is over. But, for right now at least, they don’t have to be anything more or less than exactly who they are. Shiro and Keith. Two people who love each other, who would follow each other to the end of the universe. With Shiro by his side, Keith thinks maybe it could all be worth it after all.

Keith closes his eyes and shuts out the world, lets the sound of Shiro’s breathing lull him to sleep and dreams of the day they finally leave the war behind them.

**Author's Note:**

> don't be shy, let me know what you thought.
> 
> come visit me on tumblr @devilstrip!


End file.
